Cultivator



1. F. HAHDEN.

cumvAToR. APPLICATION vFILED NOVJB, 15H9.

Patented Mays, 1922., Y

cULrIvA'roR.

To all wlw/m. t may conce/m.' i

Be it known thatL'Jnssni F. HARDEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brundidge, in the 'county of Pike, State of Alabama, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Cultivators; and i do hereby declare the followingto be a full. clear, andv exact description ofthe invention, such as will enable. others'slrilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention is an improvement. in 'cultivators, andfrelates more especiallyA to that particular type'employed'in the cultivation of growing plants by straddling the row so that' the attachments or` implements for ,l working the soilew'ill operate at'bothsides of the growing plants.

. A Theprincipal objects of my invention are to provide a cultivatorof thisgeneralhcharl acter which is light in construction consistent with the work it accomplishes, is oflight draft andl easily handled, may be readily ad- '4 justedto suit diiferent conditions with reing close up tosaid plants, plowing or spect to the plants and bed kkto be cultivated, andiin use will operate on the' soil at both sides of a` row of growing plants by harrowscraping. the surface of thefsoil in and beyond e the pathk of Vtravel of the harrowuteeth, and also shape vthe bed with respect `to thel row of plants, all in a thorough and Yeffective manner. l y "j y With these principal objects in view my invention consists of a cultivator comprising a frame provided with guiding handles.

harrow-teeth depending from the forward portionv of said,l frame, scraper blades atvtachedtothe rear end ofthe'frame to follow ythe-harr'ow-teeth, andspaced apart longi- .tudinalfplates which :assist inguiding the cultivator over the rowof `growingplants A 2 l.nclf.further cultivate they latter; together with means for adjusting the several parts,

and meansffor'limitingthe depth of cut of the blades gfall as hereinafter fully describ-.

ed and more particularly set forth in the appendedA claims.'

"In the drawingsrn, Fig.,r 1 is a side elevation of a cultivator constructed in accordance with my inven- Fig. 2 isla plan View thereof, and Fig. Sis' a rear end elevation. Asfit is themain purposel of my invention to provide :a machine adapted y*for thefculti- Specieationof Letters Patent. -1 Patented Maty 91,1922. Application ined November 18,1919. 'serial No. 338,821. y

vation of. gardens or lfields inl which are grown such plants as peanuts',"cotto'n, vegstables, &c., I lhave,arrangedv the implements to straddle a. row of small growing vplants to work the soil at either vside without injuring the same, and have als-Ocontemplated a size `ofmachine that will require ybuta single draft-animal to draw it and one man to operate it;v and though "in the drawings I have shown the :preferred embodiment of my invention it' willbe understood that obvious modifications .ori

ends may be separated for spread]l apart to v a more or lessextent to-vary therelatlve4 working positions of the implements, here"`^ inafter described, carried thereby; said side piecesbeing further. connected to. increase thefrigidityk ofthe frame by: means 'of al I transverse rod 13 near their-forward ends and an interposed adjustable brace 16 nearv their rear ends. The connecting rod; 13 is threaded atv both endsV to receivefnuts'y 14' at both sidesv of theftfwo' side pieces 10,v to allow for the aforementioned adjustmentgof said side pieces, and for the same'purpose'the j rbrace 16 comprises Jtwo latbars ormembers which are bolted7 to the inner sides of the side pieces, respectively, and overlap'each y other to receive a fastening bolt 18-,passing through registering holes in said companion brace-members; and in orderjthat the brace may be extensible and contractib-le for vthey purposes ofthe adjustment they are each.

provided with aseriesof 4holes 17 to receive .the connecting-bolt. This triangularshaped v frame is providedat its forward' end with the usual'form of clevis 12, and atits rear end with a'pair of conventional handles 21, 21, the ylatter ,being boltedf at Ytheir lfront ends to van' intermediate portion of the side pieces and, suitably Vbraced vby means of metal stripsor standards 25 looltedtov and ioo rising from the rear extremities ofsaid slide Y pieces with a seriesof, bolt holes attheir `upper ends (for the connection' of the handles 'and permit of vertical ,adjustmentA thereof.

By ,reference to Fig. 2y it'will'be Ynoted :that the' rear ends of the side pieces 1 0 ofthe frame are'iared outwardly frenipointsy of connection of the brace 16, at 24, so as to conform to the disposition of the scraperblades, hereinafter described, which are attached to said flared ends.

At a suitable distance from the frontend ofthe frame l attach to the side pieces thereof a plurality of harrow teeth 19 in two sets or groups at opposite sides of the longitudinal center of said frame, with the teeth of each set or group out of longitudinal line with each other so as to operate in different paths for breaking up the soil or surface crust at the sides of the growing plants; it being understood of course that the space between the sets or groups of teeth provides for non-interference with the plants, and that this space may be readily increased or diminished to suit different conditions or for cultivating a desired distance from the plants by adjusting the side pieces of the frame laterally in the manner hereinbefore set forth. For the purpose of disposing these barrow-teeth out of line with each other to a greater extent than provided for by the divergenceof the side pieces those of each set are attached to the opposite sides of the respective side pieces, the attachment being made in the present instance by U-shaped clips 19. It will be noted that these harrowteeth 19 are each formed of a bar rectangular in cross-section with the lower end pointed and curved slightly forward, and that said teeth are disposed with an edge in front to more effectually break up or pulverize the soil.

Attached to the rear end of the frame so as to follow the barrow-teeth, and also located at opposite sides of the longitudinal center of the machine, are a pair of scraper-blades 27 attached to the rear ends of theiside pieces l0 by uprights or standards 30 rising from the front ends of said blades and uprights or standards 26 rising from the rear ends thereof, the last'mentioned standards being a continuation of the metal strips or standards`25 for bracing the handles and the first Vmentioned standards being extended above the aforesaid side pieces to receive bracerods 29 which extend forwardly and are connected to the side pieces or frame by the bolts 2O attaching thechandles thereto.' The blades 27 are disposed obliquely to the line of draft and are each provided with afrearwardly extending wing 28 adapted to travel upon the surface of the bed to not only limit the cut of the blades inthe soil but also steady the draft of the cultivator in a direct lline and thereby facilitate the operation of the same. The scraper-blades operate beyond the lpaths of the harrow teeth, and it will'be understood that they may be manipulated to scrape the surface of the bed for removing weeds'or to cut into the soil and more thoroughly cultivate between the rows of plants.

Arranged in front of the scraper blades 27 and extending forwardly therefrom substantially in the line of draft of the cultivator are plates 23, attached to and depending from the side pieces 10 in a longitudinal direction and spaced apart corresponding with the adjustment of said side pieces with respect to each other; being attached by the bolts 20 connecting the handles 21and bracerods 29 to the side pieces; and in order that said plates may be adjusted to enter the soil to a more or less extent the bolts pass through a vertical slot 22 in each plate. The main purpose of these longitudinally disposed plates 23 is to cooperate with the wings 28 on the scraper blades 27 to steady the draft of the cultivator or assist the operator in guiding it over the row of plants, for it will be understood that the single animal required to draw the cultivator walks at one side of the row of plants andlconsequently there is a tendency to pull the cultivator to one side. This side shifting tendency' is overcome by the operator guiding the cultivator, and in the present instance the longitudinal plates and wings on the Scrapers` by bea-ring in the soil materially reduces'the effort required to keep the cultivator moving straight or in line with the row of plants. AIt will be understood, however, that the plates not only assist in directing the travel of the cultivator but are alsoan activefelement in the cultivation of the Vsoil inasmuch as they break the top soil and loosen the earth about the plants to more thoroughly shape the bed for receiving moisture. y

From the foregoing description it will be readily noted that the several Aimplements of my improved cultivating machine all cooperate to workthe soil in a peculiarly effective manner at both sides of a row of growingplants; for as the machine is drawn over the bed the barrow-teeth operate to gently break or pulverize the soil close up to the plants without disturbing their roots and the scraper-bladesserve to remove weeds and further cultivate thesoil beyond the path of said barrow-teeth, while the longitudinal plates help to guide the cultivator and'work the soil at both sides of theplants ,thus subjecting the bed to treatment that usually requires separate operations or more than one trip over the same. 'Furthermore it will be VAnoted that the constructionvof the machine is veryv light without sacrificing itsl stability and durability, and inasmuch asv the frame itself and implements it carries are adjust- 'able the utility of the cultivator is increased to the extent of permitting various treatments of a bed or garden, whereby it is particularly well adapted for cultivating and shaping beds of growing peanuts, cotton, and different kinds of vegetables, being .not only susceptible of easy and` economical operation -but subjecting the bed or garden to a' form vscraper blades, of vertical plates suspended from the side pieces and disposedsubstantially in the line of draft to enter the soil at the sides of the plants and assist the operator in guiding the travel of the cultivator over the row of plants, and wings extending erearwardly from the scraper blades to travel over the bed and cooperatewith the aforesaid plates in steadyng the draft of the cultivator.

2. In combination with a straddle-row cultivator having side pieces carrying scraper blades, of vertical plates suspended from the side pieces and disposed substantiallyin the line of draft to enter the soil at thesides of the plants and assist the operator in guiding the travel of the cultivatorf over the row of plants, and means for adjusting said plates' vertically with respect to the sidepieces of the cultivator; together with wings extend'- ing rearwardly from the scraper blades to l travel over the bed and cooperate with the aforesaid plates in guiding the cultivator, substantially as herein shown and described In testimony whereof, I afHX my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

JEssIE F. HARDEN.

Witnesses:

J Gr. BRANTLEY, E. M. TRoU'rHr. 

